Ruby
by CaliLatet
Summary: Uchiha Sasuke's probation was ending early... because of a mission to the Outside. Protect the Potter brat and his classmates, kill the Dark Lord, gather information on the outside world, and come back. But of course, nothing is ever that easy. [slight timeline manipulation and changes in canon events and information]
1. Prologue

**As I "rewrote" Ruby, I found myself beginning to hate it. At one point, I considered dropping it entirely, but didn't out of sheer spite.**

 **I remember being at church one day and the pastor said something about how in order to "stay alive" [in faith] , you need to find a balance between passion and respect.**

 **Now, this fanfiction is hardly God, but the method is still the same, as I'm beginning to learn.**

 **So here you go.**

* * *

 **PROLOGUE**

Uchiha Sasuke was a master at keeping a straight face.

But even that couldn't stop the corner of his mouth from twitching upwards. It had been nearly a year of probation. Nothing but D-rank missions for nearly a year. It was humiliating at best, and torturous at worst.

 _Although_ , he supposed, _it could have been worse_.

It took his killing Orochimaru and a fair share of Akatsuki members, frantic pleas from his teammates, and careful speeches about the effects of a Curse Mark (a perfectly true statement… just "colored" in his favor) , to let him off with anything other than execution.

(Not that he would've died.)

Tsunade had sworn that he would suffer a little over two years of the punishment, the time that Sasuke had been a missing-nin, but was now forced to cut it short, something that irked her to no end.

The Uchiha was tempted to be amused, but he was more curious than anything else. "Why me?" he asked.

The Hokage grunted noncommittally. "Sharingan'll let you see the spells better. You're a decent shinobi, too, so there's no need to worry about you inconveniently dying in a back alley somewhere… And our snake probably gave you some fun facts."

 _Ah, so that's why_ , he thought.

"Well, if that's a good enough answer for you," she said, pushing a scroll towards him. "The details are in here, now take that and go away."

He picked up the scroll, and as soon as he left the building, he opened it up.

Inside were directions, which was expected, but also a storage seal. Curiosity piqued, the black-haired ninja shunshin-ed to his house and released the contents. Appearing in a small puff of smoke was a ceramic, hawk-like mask.

For a moment, he wondered why it wasn't a snake, then he remembered that the mass-murderer he was supposed to hunt down apparently had a thing for snakes (So essentially another Orochimaru, but with less human experimentation. Hopefully). Walking around with a mask like that on would be a more detrimental than helpful.

The Uchiha raised the mask to his face and was surprised to find that it was actually fairly breathable, and not as uncomfortable as he'd anticipated, although it was constricting and inconvenient.

He set the mask down and returned it to the scroll, then straightened up. For a moment, a flicker of something flared to life in his chest. He paused and frowned. It was like a dull ache, something that struck him as extremely familiar… the thought dissipated, and he shrugged, squashing the strange pang.

 _It's nothing important_.

* * *

"You're leaving?!" Naruto asked/shouted, sending bits of ramen flying out of his mouth. The blond Jinchuriki searched Sasuke's face, for what, the Uchiha didn't know (although he did know that one little piece of noodle had landed on his pants, to his disgust). "How long?"

"Ten months to a year. Maybe more, maybe less. It all really depends on my ability," he replied, monotone voice a contrast to his… friend(?)'s… expressiveness.

Sakura frowned. "Where?"

 _Ugh, not you too. I thought interrogations were finished three months ago_. "Britain."

For a moment, the duo were uncomprehending, when slowly a look of horrified/fascinated realization painted their faces. The Uchiha suppressed a smirk ( _I'm not thirteen anymore, goddammit_ ). "It's a country on the Outside," he elaborated.

"You - why aren't you - I mean, it's the Outside!" Sakura sputtered. "You're really calm about this."

The Uchiha shrugged. "Learned about it from Orochimaru. I believe he had a contact, so to speak, who's going to get me past the border and into Britain," he explained.

Naruto held up a hand. "Wait, wait, wait. If he's a friend of Orochimaru, why are we trusting him?"

" _She_ ," Sasuke said, shooting Naruto a pointed look, "was hardly on friendly terms with Orochimaru. They just supplied each other with information sometimes. And anyways, after he… took me in… she left."

At their still disapproving glares, he huffed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in a rare show of emotion. "Look, it doesn't matter. I'm going, regardless of who's taking me," he growled, standing up and turning around. He shunshin-ed away before they could chase him or call out, ignoring the feeling that had blossomed in his chest again.

He finally knew what it was, and for a moment, he contemplated ripping away the stronger seal placed on his Curse Mark.

* * *

The Uchiha tried to ignore the two sets of vaguely betrayed eyes on him, instead fixing the contact-with-the-unpronounceable-name with the coldest, most intense stare he could come up with.

She just hummed along to some song he couldn't hear, only meeting his gaze once she finished setting up the gate. "Alright, Sasuke-san," she said, voice slightly accented. "Step into the main circle. I'm warning you now, the ride is extremely uncomfortable, but we can't do anything about that."

He complied, and the red paint decorating the large stone slab began to glow blue. For the first time, seeds of apprehension grew in his stomach, and he looked up at the contact, whose eyes began to gleam the same color.

" _Get ready,_ " she mouthed.

The last thing he saw was the sun, blazing in all it's glory.

* * *

 **I'm determined to do well, yes, but I also want to enjoy writing. I'm not going to let this story become a burden.**

 **But anyhoo, thanks for reading!**


	2. Part One

**xxx**

* * *

 **PART ONE**

"You weren't kidding when you said that was going to be uncomfortable," Sasuke gasped, nausea rolling over his body. Next to him, the contact laughed, although, he noted with vindictive pleasure, her hands were shaking.

"Yeah, I feel like throwing my guts up every time," she agreed. "But that's water under the bridge," she said with a little laugh. "You need somewhere to stay, so I took the liberty of booking a room. Hogwarts -" the black-haired shinobi resisted the urge to snort at the ridiculous name "- is paying. It's the Leaky Cauldron, the pub-inn-thing that leads to Diagon Alley," she continued.

Sasuke rose to his feet, about to follow the contact out of the dark, dirty alleyway, when suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. "Oh, I nearly forgot!" she explained. "We're going to be traveling through the normal part of town, so you might want to change into something a little less… revealing." She tossed him a bundle of clothes and turned her back towards him. "Keep your mask in your hand, though, and put it on when we arrive," she said.

Sasuke nodded, although he couldn't be seen, and changed.

His clothes, and in particular the dark fabric and purple rope he customarily tied around is waist, had attracted a lot of strange stares, but nobody paid much attention to the two. Sasuke pulled at the zipper to the simple, longsleeved black shirt that hung loosely over his body, the color a contrast to the white-gray-blue fabric he usually wore.

He found himself a little homesick, surprisingly. He hadn't experienced the feeling since joining Orochi -

"We're here!"

He pushed the memories out of his mind, and looked up. He was about to point out that there was nothing there, but then he noticed the slight shimmer hanging in the air. He hissed out a forceful "Kai!" under his breath, and the illusion dissipated like mist.

"Just go in there and ask for room thirty-seven," she explained, holding out a key and a sleek black device. "The thing here is a cell phone. The only two number on it right now is mine and the Hokage's, and it's charmed to work in magical surroundings. If you need me for anything, call."

Sasuke took the two items and slid the mask over his face.

"The mask itself is charmed to translate, but I would learn English as soon as possible," she suggested.

Sasuke nodded absentmindedly, adjusting the straps. After he was satisfied with the mask, he stepped up to the Leaky Cauldron's entrance.

"Stay alive, friend!" the contact called out, laughing. "It's like I'm sending my child off to school," she murmured when she thought she was out of earshot.

Behind the ceramic, Sasuke frowned.

* * *

However strange he thought non-magical Britain was, the wizarding part of it was far stranger. Everything from the sheer impossibility of magic and the robes (the worst, and most impractical fashion choice, in his humble opinion) and just the way the society was run just rubbed him off as weird and highly unnecessary.

The talking mirror was just the cherry on top, and he ended up breaking it. For a moment, he felt bad for whoever had to clean and fix the mess, but in the end, he discarded the thought. _House elves,_ he reminded himself.

He had read about the creatures in one of the books that the contact had left lying around for him to see. Books on English, books about spell theory, wizard society, the castle he would be spending most of his time in, books on the relationship between the Ministry and the Hidden Continent ( _Shaky at best, although usually hostile. Wizards have a affinity for bad relations, it seems_ ). And, interestingly enough, books on the "Muggle" side of the spectrum. That, he found, was truly interesting.

No magic. No chakra. No power but their own two hands.

And apparently that was enough.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke had no idea when he fell asleep, but one second he was reading over a surprisingly interesting text on Muggle science (hoping it would give him insight on chakra, and thus illuminating how to improve his jutsu), and the next, he had an iron-tight grip on the wrist of a strange, wrinkled… _thing_ … kunai in hand.

He blinked the traces of sleep from his eyes and forced himself to relax. "How long was I asleep?" he asked, in the little English he knew.

"Ah - uhm - oh, sir -"

"Nevermind, doesn't matter," he said, ignoring the well-intentioned sputtering. "What do you need?"

"Dumbledore is here!"

At this, the Uchiha heir perked up. "The Headmaster?" he breathed, although he was already on his feet and rushing towards the door, pulling the mask on over his head, cursing under his breath all the while.

However, as soon as he stepped out the door, he collected himself and walked down to the pub part of the building normally, trying to exude an atmosphere of cold, ruthless strength. Which wasn't that hard, even when he'd just woken up, as he realized when the patrons suddenly quieted at his arrival.

Sasuke assumed the mask, and the little bits of killing intent he was shooting off here and there helped.

"Headmaster Dumbledore?" he asked, approaching a man that fit the bill perfectly, with a long white beard and strange robes - even for wizarding standards. The mask translated his words perfectly, taking away all traces of accent with it, until all that was left was the careful monotone of his own voice, although slightly muffled and warped through the ceramic.

"Yes, that's me," the man replied, a genial smile on his lips and a twinkle shining in his eyes. "And you are the shinobi that the Hokage lent us?"

"Yes," the shinobi in question replied.

"Code?"

Sasuke paused as the words bubbled up from the back of his mind. "Hebi," he said, waiting.

The Headmaster nodded, satisfied, and returned the gesture. "Taka. That means 'hawk', doesn't it?"

A slow smirk spread across the Uchiha's face, and he nodded, although he was pretty sure that the other man already knew the answer.

Dumbledore hmmed thoughtfully. "Do you mind taking off the mask?" he asked, almost out of the blue. "I'd like to see your face, if that's alright with you."

It honestly wasn't, but Sasuke complied after subtly turning his body so that no nosy patrons could see his face. After a moment of studying his face with solemn intensity, the aged wizard nodded, and he returned the cool white ceramic to his face.

"My apologies," Dumbledore said, "But I couldn't get around to meeting you before today - I'm quite busy during the breaks, you see - and I didn't want to bring you to Headquarters before I checked. Constant vigilance, you see," he smiled.

The Uchiha agreed wholeheartedly.

* * *

 **nothing to say here, but as always,**

 **thanks for reading.**


	3. Part Two

_**for once, i dont have any weird line break/timeskips.**_

 ** _i got a question asking whether or not sasuke's got his rinnegan/eternal mangekyo._** ** _and the answer is no._** ** _he doesn't have rinnegan, nor does he have eternal mangekyo._**

 ** _in this au, sasuke returns to konoha after he kills itachi, without a fight. and truthfully, i dont know where this is going._**

 ** _ive got the seeds of a plot, but i havent fleshed anything out yet. im just writing out a plot bunny._**

 ** _thank you for supporting my plot bunny._**

* * *

 **PART TWO**

Sasuke raised an eyebrow skeptically - not that anyone could see it behind the mask - but stepped forward and grabbed onto Dumbledore's wrist.

"We're going to use Side-Along Apparition," he explained.

The Uchiha nodded, tightening his grip, most likely to a painful point, but he didn't care. He remembered something about it being likely to lose body parts while traveling this way, and he'd prefer that things like that did not happen.

However, one thing he did not anticipate was the bile that filled his throat and mouth as soon as they arrived. Apparition itself was uncomfortable, yes, but it left him with intense motion sickness. Sasuke bit back the need to throw up and tried to breathe normally.

Beside him was Albus Dumbledore, who looked him up and down with mild approval. "Most people throw up the first time," he said.

Sasuke shrugged, thankful that his mask hid the paler-than-usual hue of his face, and looked around. The duo were on a fairly empty, rundown street.

Dumbledore handed him a folded up piece of paper ( _It's called "parchment",_ Sasuke remembered), and he opened it up absentmindedly, scanning over the contents. His knowledge of English was limited, but he recognized the writing as an address.

 _12 Grimmauld Place_.

Magic did have it's benefits, Sasuke decided as he watched the house appear. The magic was different from any genjutsu, and he didn't even realize there was something hidden there. Dumbledore walked towards the house, and Sasuke took that opportunity, when no-one was watching him, to activate his Sharingan. Strangely, he was able to detect the faintest trace of something wrong, but it was difficult - one would say "impossible" - to discern any individual energy signature from inside of the walls.

He followed Dumbledore to the house, in effect turning his gaze towards the Headmaster, and found himself suppressing a feral grin. The not-quite-chakra wasn't nearly as powerful as others he had seen (including his own) , and it wasn't as "sinister" as his, per se.

 _But it's not really Light at all_ , he thought as he stepped inside. For a split second, he was taken off guard with the house elf heads mounted on the walls, and the slimy, blackened feeling clinging to the walls, but in the end, the way the house was decorated didn't bother the Uchiha at all. He'd seen far stranger while he was allied with Orochimaru, after all.

The wizard in front of him turned around (Sasuke barely turned off his Sharingan in time - he and Tsunade had decided that it would be best to keep his abilities, for the most part, a secret) and raised a finger to his lips, a clear indication to remain quiet. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, ( _I'm a ninja. I don't need to be told by some old man to shut up_ ) but did so anyways.

The two found themselves in front of a large, ornate door. Dumbledore raised a hand and knocked on the door. Sasuke contemplated memorizing the beat - obviously a code of some sort - but soon discarded the thought, having arrived to the conclusion that if he needed to get inside so badly, he could've just broken the door down.

They slipped inside to find a congregation of middle-aged witches and wizards gathered around a long, round table carved out of dark, smooth wood, and polished so well, Sasuke could see his reflection in it.

"Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore said.

Sasuke remained silent, and the wizards began to shift awkwardly, until the stifling silence was broken by a woman with red-orange hair. "I don't know," she said uncertainly. Sasuke stiffened. "He seems a bit… young," she turned toward him. "How old are you?"

He'd honestly been expecting this. The Outside generally looked down on kids being trained in combat from the age of six (Although, in his case, he started far earlier. Some would say he'd been born ready for war).

He glanced at the Headmaster, whose face had taken on a look that displayed a somewhat resigned/annoyed look.

Sasuke took that as an indication to tell the truth. "Seventeen."

The initial response was shock, and it rippled through the room.

Then the shouting started, the most vocal protester being the red-haired woman from earlier. It was hard to make out anything in particular, with so many people arguing, but Sasuke got the idea.

"Just a child"

"Doesn't know what he's getting into"

"Honestly, how _could_ you, Albus?"

He snorted derisively. Despite it being a rather quiet action, the dreadful din hushed, and the shinobi took this as his chance to speak. "Correct me if I'm wrong," he said, "But seventeen is the legal 'adult' age here, yes?"

A quiet "he's got a point there" piped up from a chair in the back corner, but was quickly silenced with a fiery glare from the woman.

"Where I am from, you're technically an adult - meaning you are free to make your own decisions - when you graduate from the Academy," he continued, "And going by that system, I have been an adult since I was thirteen."

"Still -"

"Molly, please," Dumbledore interjected, cutting off the woman before she could argue some more. "I understand; you are a mother, and naturally would be opposed to Sasuke's presence, seeing as he is younger than two of your sons."

(That, Sasuke didn't see coming.)

"But regardless of age," Sasuke said, "I am more than capable of completing this mission."

( _Protect the Potter brat, kill the Dark Lord, get info on the Outside._ )

( _It shouldn't be too hard._ )

* * *

 _ **again, thanks so much to anyone who's reading right now, and especially to anyone who's reviewed.**_


	4. Part Three

**_so, someone pointed out that it would be far easier for sasuke to just ally himself with voldemort and assassinate him from there. and that does make a lot of sense. but i write stories based off of characters and their interactions. i want sasuke to interact with the order (regardless of how they'll most likely slow him down). but worry not, he'll be doing shady things soon enough!_**

* * *

 **PART THREE**

To anyone else, it might've looked like Uchiha Sasuke was sleeping. But his mind was working overtime, trying to figure out why he couldn't see or sense anyone in the room, despite there being a very clear presence approaching him in a manner which they probably thought was stealthy. He resisted a frustrated frown, despite the fact that his mask would hide any such movement.

Sasuke had been explicitly ordered to not use Sharingan in the presence of others, not unless there was a real, pressing emergency. _But Tsunade's on the other side of the world, there's no way she'd even realize… and I could probably just pass it off on something all shinobi can do_ , Sasuke reasoned. Of course, there were also ways to erase memories entirely, but he prefered to not use those.

After a few more dragging moments of thought, he decided he had more immediate things to worry about. The intruder was right in front of him, trying to be as still and silent as possible. It was a decent attempt, Sasuke supposed, for someone who wasn't a shinobi.

Suddenly, the light rustle of fabric interrupted his thoughts.

The Uchiha reacted along three different lines.

The first was the explosion of realization that the wizard was hiding under an Invisibility Cloak, which explained why he couldn't sense any magic. The second was the knowledge that the magic user, whoever they were, was trying to take off his mask. The third purely physical, and the result of two-and-a-half years training with Orochimaru (who had experimented on him as well; giving him someone to thank for the slight but still very important advantage of mildly enhanced senses and increased reaction speed). His eyes flew open, and his hand reached out and wrapped around the Invisibility Cloak, ripping it off the intruder.

The intruder was actually three younger wizards. Two male, one female… and it included a wizard he recognized as Harry Potter. He was entirely different from the reports that the files Sasuke had read before leaving the Leaky Cauldron had on him. For one, the aura of fear emanated from the kid so strongly, Sasuke could practically smell it. _Killed a Dark Lord as an infant? Don't make me laugh._

"You know," he growled, every syllable clipped and weighed carefully, "you're awfully lucky you're so important to this Order of the Phoenix; they're paying for your protection. Had you been anyone else, I would have killed you." Sasuke stepped close and knelt down to be eye-to-eye with the Boy-Who-Lived, whose face had turned paper-white in the face of the killing intent being directed at him.

 _He hasn't pissed himself yet, that's actually not bad._

"I - I'm not…" the Uchiha found himself mildly impressed as the kid somehow grew bolder. "I'm not afraid of you." The statement nearly made him laugh, but Sasuke commended his guts. Not many people really stood up to him, not even before he went with Orochimaru.

(Of course, the mindless insolence still grated on his nerves.)

Sasuke shrugged. "Did I ask you to be?" he said as he stood up and walked past the trio to pick up the Invisibility Cloak. "I'm not really the type to give warnings, but I'll say it this time, 'cause my paycheck kind of relies on your wellbeing: Do _not_ try anything like that _ever_ again," he hissed, sending out one more blast of icy, suffocating chakra, and left.

A small smirk grew on his face when he heard the quiet, breathless "what the hell was that", although it quickly faded when he realized he would have to deal with those three for an entire year.

This mission was shaping up to be a real headache, and for a moment he considered going back to Konoha.

* * *

 _Sycophant. A person_ _who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage._

That was the one word he decided that would be a pretty accurate description of the Minister of Magic (and virtually everybody who surrounded him). And honestly, the laughable attempts at manipulation made Sasuke dislike the pudgy man even more. At the very least, Wizarding Britain could respect him enough to try to influence him with finesse. Like Dumbledore, who at least had the decency to _try_ , although Sasuke, thanks to years and years of being pushed and pulled around like one of Kankuro's puppets, would have still remained impervious to the attempts. Of course, the poor "diplomacy" on the Minister's part made his job that much easier, he supposed.

 _Just do the mission and get out of here._

"Wait," Sasuke interrupted, hoping that what he had just heard was the result of not paying much attention. "Repeat that."

The Minister looked extremely flustered, but also rather pleased with himself - a bad combination. "The Ministry will be sending an official to Hogwarts to survey the Professors teaching there. I hope this will not be an inconvenience?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, concentrating on his next course of action. When he spoke again, he took care to seem nonchalant. "As long as it doesn't interfere with the job," he said.

"If you don't mind me asking, what _is_ the job?"

"The Headmaster asked me to defend the castle in case of an attack," he explained. "Something about a Lord Voldemort."

"You-Know-Who is _not_ back!" the Minister protested vehemently. "I'm sorry, Mister, uhm… Uchiha."

(Sasuke internally winced at the poor pronunciation.)

"Dumbledore has been leading you astray, You-Know-Who was defeated years and years ago!"

"Well, regardless of the presence of a real threat, the agreement was that I protect the residents of Hogwarts and deal with this Voldemort, should the need arise," Sasuke explained, "If nothing happens, I'll just be bored for a few months and go home with the gold."

Minister Fudge pursed his lips, creating a white line in a mass of purple-red flesh. "Of course," he said through gritted teeth.

 _Hook, line, and sinker._

* * *

 ** _thanks for reading!_**


	5. Part Four

_**this is my longest chapter yet. im strangely proud.**_

 _ **but anyways, someone recently pointed out that there are cars in the naruto universe - a fact that i was unaware of.**_

 _ **(in my defense, it has been a loooonng while since i read/watched naruto)**_

 ** _it was also mentioned that sasuke had mangekyo even before he knew the truth about itachi._**

 ** _and i would like to point out that while implied, i never did say that he didn't have mangekyo. all i did was say that he didn't have the eternal variation._**

 ** _and i never revealed whether or not he knows, did i?_**

 ** _;)_**

 ** _thanks for reading!_**

* * *

 **PART FOUR**

The castle was huge. And according to _Hogwarts: A History_ , it was filled with secret passageways and moving staircases. Honestly, the building would most likely prove to be just as much a headache as the wizards residing within it.

Sasuke had decided to move into the castle a few days before the students did, hoping to at least get some idea of his surroundings. So far, he'd found that the task was far more difficult than he'd expected, as not only was the castle constantly moving, but the resident poltergeist seemed to take immense pleasure in harassing the shinobi.

He would've done something about the ghost they called Peeves, but he had yet to see the thing in person. All of the pranks had all been carefully planned traps. (Sasuke had managed to avoid all of them, but some were too close for comfort.)

 _The paintings are a pain in the ass, too_ , he thought, trying to ignore the enchanted artwork. They'd bothered him incessantly since he'd began combing the castle, setting detection traps and the like. Some were well-intentioned, others downright malicious. But they were noisy and distracting, so it was a relief to set down the last trap and retreat to the room he'd been given.

It was large - almost unnecessarily so - and _very_ luxurious, something Sasuke could appreciate. And it was conveniently placed in an area that was a good mix between "near the kitchens" and "tucked away in an obscure corner of the castle that was unlikely to be discovered by nosy little kids".

And to no surprise, he had found numerous listening devices, but ultimately decided to let them be. Not even Naruto would have been stupid enough to just blurt out sensitive information. And anyway, asides from the contact (whose name Sasuke _still_ couldn't quite make out) , who would be sneaking in and out regularly to personally deliver messages and reports, he had no-one to talk to.

Which was, in all honesty, fine with him.

The Sharingan-user picked up a small, almost blindingly pink letter and opened it, scanning the contents for what seemed to be the millionth time. The missive was, in short, a type of threat/warning about some Ministry woman who would be "helping him settle into life in the most esteemed school in all of Wizarding Britain" and "supervising the professors and their teaching methods".

 _A spy_.

* * *

Sasuke frowned at the painfully pink (it seemed to be her color, unfortunately) , rather toad-ish woman sitting at the table, smug expression on her face. The students had only begun to notice her, now that the Sorting Hat was finished with the last kid and she had made some comment about how things were when she was a student.

He rolled his eyes, not really listening to the Headmaster welcome the wizards back to Hogwarts. It was only when the woman interrupted with an obviously fake, airy cough that he began to focus on the proceedings. The surrounding professors seemed torn between indignation and surprise, a reaction mirrored by the students, as the woman stood up and began her rather patronizing introduction. Sasuke stiffened as her tone changed into something a little more business-like.

 _Damn._

At this point in time, he had about three options…

The Uchiha's mind raced, trying to figure out which course of action would be the best. As his train of thought came to a close, Dumbledore beckoned him over. Raising a dark eyebrow, he shunshin-ed to the table, eliciting a collective gasp from the congregated wizards.

"You must be the shinobi that Minister Fudge speaks so much of," the toad simpered (she had admittedly recovered fast from the shock of what Sasuke was pretty sure she thought was Apparition in Hogwarts - a feat described as impossible). "I am Dolores Umbridge, we will most likely be working together at one point or another."

Sasuke resisted the urge to gag. _Absolutely not_ , he thought venomously, although on the surface, he made sure to maintain a collected facade. " …" it was pretty obvious that she was expecting a response. He contemplated just leaving right there in a fit of childlike vindictiveness, but eventually voted against it, after a long and rather uncomfortable stretch of silence. "Uchiha Sasuke."

"A pleasure," she said, holding out a hand.

This time, after a curt "Likewise", he _did_ leave.

* * *

The rumors had set flight remarkably fast. It started with his abrupt appearance, and ended with his mask. He didn't actively take part in the rumors, but did keep and ear out for any particularly interesting (or worse, _accurate_ ) versions.

One, in particular, had been spot-on. At first, he had been the slightest bit concerned that his cover - not really much of a cover, as anyone who was familiar with the name "Uchiha Sasuke" would have _known_ \- had been blown, but remembered that to anyone else, it was just another outlandish story. Especially because the guess had come from a Ravenclaw they called "Loony" Lovegood. He'd decided to investigate, but came to the conclusion that the girl, actually named Luna, was harmless, if not a little strange.

And anyway, if she did prove to be a real threat, she would be dealt with.

Sasuke sighed silently, trying to clear his head when the shinobi had spotted a certain pink-clad woman almost waddling his way. Unbidden, his brain made the calculations to how long it would be before she reached him.

 _Plenty of time to leave. Or to kill her, come to think of it._

Sasuke smirked. As if he hadn't thought of that already.

"Umbridge," he said once she came within earshot. "Do you need something?"

The woman was flustered ( _The takeover of the school probably isn't going as smoothly as she thought_ ) , but she managed to nod and say, "Yes, but in private" in a certain tone that oozed arrogant superiority.

In short, she was looking down at him, a thought that sent his blood boiling as he followed her to a less populated corridor.

 _What does she even need me for?_ he wondered, though a part of him did have a sneaking suspicion.

"The Ministry needs your help."

Sasuke didn't bother to suppress the cold grin dominating his features - it wasn't like anyone could see his face anyways.

 _Minister Fudge pulled through._

"The payment is 10,000 Galleons."

 _Ten times the amount Hogwarts offered._

This was going to be fun.

* * *

 ** _thanks again for reading, my awesome potatoes!_**

 ** _(i cant tell whether or not that was a hetalia reference...) (eh, whatever)_**

 ** _please review._**


	6. Part Five

**this was amazing to write. im so excited**

* * *

 **PART FIVE**

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, focusing on his chakra, and a group of snake summons appeared in front of him with a collective puff of smoke. He would've used hawks, as having the snakes slither around had the potential to cause largely unnecessary panic, but ultimately didn't use the birds, deciding that snakes would be easier, and he wasn't about the patrol an entire castle by himself.

And Kage Bunshin was out of the question, as stupid a sentiment as that was.

After explaining the situation to the snakes, Sasuke rushed to the Room of Requirement and paced in front of it before pushing open the conjured door to reveal a huge, empty room. He had no intention of going soft anytime soon, he resolved, and began to push chakra to his left shoulder, testing the restraint placed on the black marks. The Uchiha had been intent doing so ever since the stronger seal had been placed on his Cursed Seal Of Heaven, for the reason that not only would it weaken the bonds, but he wanted to see how much it would take for the chain to snap. He hadn't gotten the chance during the first few months that he returned to Konoha, as he was constantly being tailed by his teammates, or watched over by ANBU, but now he was finally alone.

And he was nothing less than opportunistic.

* * *

 _Voldemort has returned, and he is coming after Harry Potter - and most likely his friends and peers as well. The Minister remains in denial, the incompetent fool he is. Meanwhile, this rip-off of Orochimaru has spies everywhere, and is recruiting more and more powerful wizards. And that's ignoring the werewolves and giants on his side._

 _True, it's nothing I can't handle, but damn._ Sasuke sighed, more than a little frustrated, _This job is shaping up to be a real pain in the ass._

 _At this point, I can only hope to infiltrate the Ministry. Dumbledore's got people there, but there aren't that many of them, and they're not high-ranking enough to pose a threat to me, other than maybe the one called Shacklebolt - and he can be easily silenced. But if I were to go to Voldemort, I would be put under real suspicion. Severus Snape, that potions professor, definitely has a Dark Mark, and I have no idea who he truly works for. The chances of success in that area isn't worth the risk._

It was also quite obvious that Dolores Umbridge was also allied with - or at least sympathetic to - Voldemort and his Death Eaters. If she came to him with a job from the Dark Lord, Sasuke decided he would take it and find a way to circumvent the complication brought forth from Snape, and juggle three sides of a brewing war. The money offered helped, too, he supposed.

The Uchiha wasn't really greedy, despite understanding the importance of money. It was really information he was after, he acknowledged, glancing around the massive library. Not only from the tomes collected in Hogwarts castle, but also the mountains of records stored in the Ministry, and especially from the information on the Dark Arts that the Death Eater army was bound to have.

After all, knowledge was a shinobi's most powerful weapon.

Sasuke was tempted for a split second to abandon the mission for the most part, leaving behind a clone like he did earlier and searching the Wizarding world himself, but opted against that course of action. If he did, it could easily be interpreted as treasonous thought, and not even the mess that was Team Seven could shield him from Tsunade. Or, and this was more likely, Root. Becoming a fugitive never struck him as particularly appealing, but the feeling was heightened now, as he sat in a corner of the library's Restricted Section (despite the material being rather tame, in his opinion). It would be far easier to stay within Konoha's folds before…

He clenched his teeth, beginning to feel the all-too-familiar burn behind his eyes grow.

Yes, if there was one thing Uchiha Sasuke was determined to do, it was to annihilate Shimura Danzo.

* * *

In a fit of boredom, the shinobi decided to leave the library in the dead of night. He had run of of interest in the books shelved there, and hoped that after roaming the building, the curiosity would return.

For what seemed to be an eternity and yet no time at all, he stumbled upon a girl dressed in cream-colored pajamas, with a wand holding white-blonde hair in a messy bun. He recognized her as the Ravenclaw witch that people often referred to as "Loony Lovegood". She turned and regarded him carefully, as if somehow sensing his presence despite his absolute silence.

Sasuke stared back, not wholly uncomfortable with the thick quiet. "You're not going to send me back?" she asked.

(He found her voice mildly unsettling, for a reason he couldn't quite pin down.)

"No."

Luna nodded, almost to herself, before speaking up again. "If you're wondering, I'm out here because I can't sleep," she explained.

Something about the way she said it made the Uchiha doubt her, but he didn't oppose the statement and merely cast an henge over his eyes before cautiously activating his Sharingan. _There's no way someone who acts like this isn't under a genjutsu. Or the Imperius, come to think of it._

"Are you alright? Your eyes are red."

Sasuke blinked, hastily shutting down the Sharingan. There was no spell, and there was no jutsu. She obviously wasn't a ninja either, so the sheer strangeness of the witch could be chalked up to simple eccentricity, and as for her ability to see past the henge… he had read things about Seers, but never really thought about it too much, after seeing Sybill Trelawney in action.

He huffed silently. _Wizards,_ he thought derisively, although the thought didn't hold much venom. Unconsciously, the shinobi stepped closer to the blonde witch and grabbed her wrist, holding her left hand in his line of sight. He had noticed something distinctly _off_ about her behavior, a hypothesis strengthened by the way she tried to hide the back of her hand when he activated Sharingan. And he found that he wasn't quite surprised when he saw that carved into her skin was _I will not disrespect my betters_ in glistening crimson. _Wizards,_ he thought once more, the white noise of anger humming inside his skull.

Sasuke had to admit that his grasp on medical ninjutsu wasn't particularly good, but he had good chakra control and a decent amount of knowledge on how healing small wounds worked. With that thought, he began to channel chakra to his right hand, still using his left to hold Luna in place.

With the differences between magic cores (which was somewhat or a pool of energy between the body and the soul) and chakra coils (a system of "circuits" that connected the physical to the spiritual) , Sasuke doubted that healing the delicate cuts - most likely from some sort of Dark artifact owned by Umbridge, the toad - on the witch's hand would work the same way and healing another shinobi. His eyes began to grow red with the Sharingan's power, not bothering to hide it anymore.

"I already used Murtlap Essence. It doesn't really hurt anymore, so…" the witch started and trailed off, uncertain.

Sasuke purposefully ignored the girl, concentrating on the task at hand. _I had originally thought that the power's wouldn't mix, but it's not like that at all. Magic cores are completely disconnected from the user's body, so I don't have to worry about accidentally harming her while trying to heal. Which saves me a lot of trouble_ , he thought, placing his hand over the cuts.

The Ravenclaw witch gasped as the words closed and faded, until not even a scar remained.

A minute of silence stretched on between the duo, before Sasuke spoke up. "Now, will you go to sleep?" he asked, not waiting for an answer as he ushered the still mildly awed witch to the Ravenclaw tower.

"Thank you," she smiled. "You're not really scary at all."

* * *

 **i want to make it clear now that Ruby will not contain ships of any sort.**

 **mainly bc i cant write that to save my life.**

 **anyways.**

 **i freaking love luna lovegood.**

 **and thanks for reading.**


	7. Part Six

**this took a while for me to write, sorry**

* * *

 **PART SIX**

Hermione Granger, a Gryffindor often regarded as the smartest, most talented witch her age. The shinobi had seen her a few times in the library, and a couple times more in the halls. Although her skill in a combat situation was most likely genin-level at best, she still struck him as a force to be reckoned with; the mix of intelligence and tenacity could prove to be dangerous.

Which was why, when she had found a lead to investigating a little more about him, he had decided to tail her personally. Truth be told, he didn't particularly care about keeping his identity a secret, as shown by his choice to not use any sort of code name. The decision to keep track of the witch's progress was mostly spurred on by boredom, as nothing really interesting had happened as of November, just the looming specter of war and Umbridge's Black Quills

(Sasuke found himself at an impasse. On one hand, it would mean lessened assistance from the Ministry, but the punishment also set his blood boiling).

Pushing away the thought of bleeding hands and politics, he instead focused on the task at hand. Granger had claimed a spot to herself in a rarely visited part of the library, somewhere among dusty texts about a war among the goblins and the wizarding part of Europe. A clever move, he commended, idly observing the Gryffindor place translation charms on the scrolls and thin books scattered in small piles around her.

The scrolls themselves seemed to be about the Uchiha and Senju conflicts and how they played into the formation and growth of Konoha. Common knowledge, if one actually bothered to do the research. The books, on the other hand… Sasuke raised an eyebrow, torn between interest and irritation. _Bingo Books. Damn._

How Granger had managed to get ahold of those, he had no idea, but after closer inspection, they appeared to be recent editions from various villages, with the newest update from Konoha sitting on top.

Sasuke sighed, looking over the witch's shoulder from his hiding place atop one of the shelves, and waited as she began to read.

By the time she left the library to go to classes, Hermione Granger had discarded the scrolls and instead stuffed the now bookmarked Bingo Books into a bag, face flushed with an epiphany she was obviously itching to tell her friends, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley.

The Uchiha paused. Whatever was about to happen, he could deal with. His employer definitely knew, the Ministry probably wouldn't care, and the student population was already flooded with near-constant gossip.

With that, he dropped down from the ceiling, discarding the camouflage jutsu as he fell.

* * *

"I figured it out!" Hermione exclaimed, smiling in triumph. "I found this book," the witch said as she pulled out a black book from her bag. "It's like a list of bounties. Enemies of this village called Konoha, dangerous rogues, criminals, things like that," she explained as she flipped open the text to a bookmarked page. The trio leaned in closer.

Inside the pages was a photo of a light skinned male with black eyes and hair that framed his face and stuck out a little in the back. Written on the top of the page was "Sasuke Uchiha", followed by a list of basic information.

Harry and Ron exchanged a half surprised, half excited look.

"Here. A missing-nin, also called a rogue ninja. He left to join someone called Orochimaru -" she turned to another page, this time picturing a pallid man with purple markings around cold amber eyes, "- who's an awful lot like You-Know-Who, to kill his brother. He was around thirteen at the time, I think." She returned to the page on the ninja hired to protect Hogwarts.

Harry pulled the book towards him and read through the entry. "S-ranked. Katon, Raiton. Sharingan. I don't recognize any of these terms," he admitted.

"S-ranked means the highest danger level a Bingo Book can register," Hermione explained. "Katon and Raiton are both something called chakra elements, it basically tells you that he can use both fire and lightning based techniques." The witch paused, pursing her lips. "I'm actually not sure about Sharingan and what it does, but I do know it's something called a kekkei genkai, which translates into bloodline limit."

"Blimey," Ron shook his head, peering over his friend's shoulder. "He's _seventeen_. And he's killed at least three people," he said, gesturing to a part of the entry labeled Notable Kills. "Orochimaru - he offed his own teacher? - Deidara, and Itachi Uchiha. So he _did_ end up killing his brother? Why?"

"I read this in an older Bingo Book. The Uchiha Clan Downfall. A massacre caused by his brother. He was the only survivor and wanted revenge."

A sober silence stretched on between the three.

Hermione tucked a wisp of curly hair behind her ear and coughed pointedly, jolting the other two away from their thoughts. "So what are we going to do?" she asked. "There's a newer version of this that doesn't have Sasuke in it. I think he returned to the Konoha village, and somehow made up for… whatever he did."

"Well," Harry said, "I suppose we could ask?"

* * *

He was in the library when he saw them coming. The three looked somewhat apprehensive, and Granger was holding a Bingo Book he recognized to be the one that came out almost immediately after Team Seven's "reunion" in Orochimaru's Kusagakure base.

The Uchiha stifled a sigh and pulled off his mask, gesturing for the trio to hurry up. Granger was the first to reach him. The girl sat down, a determined set to her mouth. "My status as a missing-nin was revoked," he started as soon as the other two arrived, "I was on probation for a while - I'm still supposed to be, actually - but the Hokage let me come here, probably to get me off her hands." Which wasn't _quite_ true, but whatever.

"Okay," the witch said, apparently shocking her companions with the ready acceptance of his story, something that had admittedly caught him off-guard as well. "I knew that already. I really came here because I had some questions."

He nodded. _That's not too surprising._

"What's a Sharingan? I already know it's a bloodline limit of some sort, but none of the things I've read had any real info on it."

"I can respect the need for knowledge," Sasuke started, "but there's this saying that comes to mind… Curiosity killed the cat."

"But satisfaction brought it back," Granger replied evenly. "While we're at it, what exactly is a Curse Mark?"

Uchiha Sasuke suppressed a smug smirk. "Fine, but I'm going to have to ask for a favor in return..."

* * *

 **thanks for reading, please review**


	8. Part Seven

**this took me far to long to do, so sorry about that.**

 **onto the chapter:**

* * *

 **PART SEVEN**

The Care of Magical Creatures professor was known for being eccentric, a half-giant, and not very good at teaching, according to the words being tossed around in hushed tones. Sasuke frowned, noting that Dolores Umbridge was following the group of students with a predatory sort of glint in her eyes. _An Inspection._

A quiet part of him had to admit, he was a little bit curious, and a little bit uneasy of how it would go. _But regardless of what happens, it'll probably be entertaining_ , he figured. The shinobi looked down the hall, towards the general area of the kitchens. After a moment's hesitation, he slipped out of the castle, trying to ignore the bite of far too cold air, and shunshin-ed towards the woman.

"Have you come to watch the Inspection?" she asked, holding a pink quill in her stubby-fingered hand, the slight widening of her eyes the only reaction to the Uchiha's sudden appearance.

Sasuke nodded, unable to keep his eyes off the quill in his peripheral vision, unable to remove the sight of _I will not disrespect my betters_ written on Luna Lovegood's hand, glistening red on pale white. It was a stupid sentiment - seeing as the quill most likely was not cursed - and Uchiha Sasuke was not a stupid person (as much as a certain knuckleheaded ninja liked to claim otherwise).

The two walked on in silence until they entered the Forbidden Forest, where Umbridge's grip on the quill shifted and the hard light in her eyes brightened in a way that the shinobi registered as similar to the way that Orochimaru had looked when he was in the middle of an experiment. A little too wide, and lit up with a goal that they knew (or thought they knew) they would accomplish.

Sasuke turned away and leapt into the trees, determined to not go within seven feet of the witch if he could help it, and moved to the front of the group. Milling about were strangely draconian horses, skeletal in appearance, with large, leathery wings that he recognized to be thestrals.

The "lesson", was more of a platform for the Ministry woman (he refused to even think of her name, white hot anger mixing with the secondhand embarrassment he shared with the onlookers) to humiliate the half-giant. Distantly, he remembered that she had a grudge against anything not wholly a magical human, having made a number of laws that chipped away that the rights and lives of non-humans and non-magicals.

After a sudden realization, and without a word, he returned to the castle and made a beeline for the nearest unused classroom. After a moment of silence, the room was filled with the sound of a small "poof" and a cloud of smoke as a copy of Uchiha Sasuke stood before him.

The Kage Bunshin was a move he tried not to use for petty reasons, but for similarly petty reasons, he was willing to take advantage of it.

* * *

It was sometime in the middle of the night that Sasuke returned to the castle and dispelled his clone. Snapshots of the day filled his mind, and he let the flowing information run its course before shoving all the irrelevant thoughts away before pulling his concentration to the task at hand.

 _Who definitely has, or had, detention with Umbridge?_ Those who immediately popped into mind were Harry Potter - but he had no intention to work with the "Chosen One" - Luna Lovegood - he quickly brushed off that option, unwilling to force the strange witch into his plan - and the two Weasleys. Both pranksters and prone to holding long, bitter grudges…

… And reckless, as he realized when he found them sneaking around the halls.

 _In other words, the perfect choice_ , Sasuke reasoned. "Any reason why you're up this late?"

The twins, to their credit, were quick to suppress any shock or dismay. "Well, I should say the same to you," one replied evenly, "Why are any of us up at this ungodly hour?"

"Figuring out a way to get rid Dolores Umbridge, but I need to know where the Black Quills are kept, what times she's not in her room... and if I'm found out, I need you to take the fall, as I'll be disguised as one of you."

The duo exchanged a look.

"The toad keeps the Black Quills -"

"- In one of the cabinets on her desk -"

"- Although which one it is, exactly -"

"- We have no idea -"

"- She won't be in her room while doing those Inspections -"

"- Or during mealtimes -"

"- But the place is definitely protected -"

"- So we're not sure what you'll accomplish."

The shinobi just let a small smirk tug on his lips and left the twins behind, set on Gryffindor Tower.

The third part of his plan was Hermione Granger, who possessed a relentless, ruthless streak when it came to "justice". And, as anticipated, it wasn't hard to convince her to start putting together a case for the Defense Professor's corruption. (Once she was fully alert, anyways.)

He had just told her to put together a story or two and force somebody to put their name on it, and then find somebody to publish it. Preferably the Daily Prophet, or somebody closely affiliated, but Sasuke understood politics and how that idea might not work out (the newspaper/tabloid _was_ the Ministry's mouthpiece, after all) , though when he voiced that concern to the young witch, she merely smiled knowingly and told him that she would find a way.

Again, a formidable force, once awakened.

* * *

 **aaand the plot thickens. somewhat. i _really_ wanted to see umbridge crash and burn.**

 **and this proves to be a good basis for doing something about marrieta edgecombe (the one with "sneak" written across her forehead, for anyone who, like me, couldnt remember)**

 **disproportionate retribution; something a reviewer asked me to do**

 **(yes i take minor requests. or took. seeing as i have a plot now, im not as flexible)**

 **anyhoo, thanks for reading, please review.**


	9. Author's Note And Omake

_**Cali Latet**_

 **Author's Note**

* * *

Did you think this was going to be another chapter? Sorry.

But this is a rather serious matter, and it is one that I feel deserves a mention. Now, I am well aware that for a Naruto-Harry Potter crossover on this site, Ruby isn't very well-known or whatever. But the fact that the reviewers that I've conversed with thus far were marvelous. Many were criticisms, but they were all very constructive and polite.

 _Even if it is just for the sake of growth, I'll stick with Ruby to the end_.

But every once in a while I can try something new, right? So that's what I did. I decided that transitioning from being a fanfic writer to a writer of my own stories would be a process. I want to include original ideas and already established stories as a way to ease my way in. Which is kind of dumb in retrospect, but whatever. I slaved over the two and a half chapters I had planned. I was so excited and nervous to post it online (I have since deleted the version on this website). I was so psyched about it that I took the time to put it on Wattpad, and was even part way through the making a Quotev account!

However, a lovely Guest brought to my attention that I was an "attention-seeking, self-insert [this story did contain a lot of OCs and original concepts] Mary Sue". They then told me to "f*** off".

A major vice of mine is that I cannot take criticism. _At all_. It's actually kind of hilarious, how sensitive and prone to overreaction I am (it's all part of growing up, right? lol). So yes.

I will be reworking that little hplot bunny. And I will be doing Ruby on the side (but since this is not a very adventurous fanfic, I don't feel that same angry desire to prove myself, y'know?). Thank you for bearing with me, being kind, and facilitating my growth.

 _Please be kind in the reviews, both here and elsewhere, and stay awesome as ever_.

As an apology for the long Author's Note, here's a little omake:

* * *

They hadn't really considered the thought that the mysterious and more-often-than-not frightening guard had friends.

There were two of them, but their faces were obscured by all too familiar ceramic masks. One had short, unruly blond hair and his mask was shaped in a vaguely fox-like manner, the other was female and had shoulder-length pink hair so vibrant it could only be natural, and a mask depicting a cat.

They didn't act quite friendly (in the way most people would think of friendly) towards each other. He would growl something in the foreign language some students claimed to be Japanese and the fox-masked one would hiss something back, going back and forth until the girl with pink hair jumped in and whacked them both upside the head with a strength that was quickly deemed "monstrous".

Nobody quite caught their names, and if it weren't for the fact that his was "Sasuke Uchiha", the students of Hogwarts would be inclined to believe that they didn't have any (and even then, it was Luna Lovegood that had apparently asked, so half of the school was rather dubious about the name).

Eventually, curiosity won over and a Hufflepuff third year approached the blond and asked for a name. He answered with "Naruto Uzumaki" in a bright, cheerful tone that belied the intimidating uniform. Spurred on by the success, another student decided to ask the girl, who was a tad more reserved, but no less open with her identity, which was placed under the name "Sakura Haruno".

After that, it was more outlandish that these two could ever be associated with the actual thundercloud that was Sasuke Uchiha, but for some reason, it seemed to work.

In a few, rare, quiet moments when he seemed to let down his guard and let Sakura rest her head on his shoulder, when he exchanged soft, mumbled words with Naruto, and when he seemed to look at them laughing with a gentle sort of envy, it was apparent that yes, Sasuke Uchiha was indeed a human being.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**

 _ **Cali Latet**_


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